Inside Today: A complete guide to all the New Year’s events around the area • Page 3A ����������������
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SATURDAY | December 28, 2013 | Vol. 60 | No. 8 | www.theleadernews.com | @heightsleader
THE BRIEF.
KATHERINE HERNANDEZ
www.allenSOLDit.com
sponsored by
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832.419.9969
LEADER of the YEAR For more than 30 years, we have named a Leader of the Year. This year, we decided to find a future leader. And we did. Read about her on Page 4B.
Clerk establishes way for jurors to donate
So Long, 2013
The District Clerk’s Office hopes that it can play a small part in aiding the widows and children of these firefighters and officers by allowing jurors to donate jury pay to The 100 Club. Donations of juror pay will be used by The 100 Club in a number of ways. Over the years, The 100 Club has received $40.7 million in donations and disbursed as much. Of that, $16.8 million went to help the dependents of more than 160 fallen and severely injured officers and firefighters. Another $11.8 million was donated to buy protective vests and other life-protecting equipment for law enforcement agencies. And another $7.5 million went for scholarships for officers pursuing criminal justice degrees. Launched in 1953, The 100 club was the brainchild of Leopold Meyer, Ray Elliot, R.H. Abercrombie, William A. “Bill” Smith and Jim “Silver Dollar” West. They convinced 100 people to kick in $100 each for the familes of HPD officers killed in the line of duty. Rick Hartley, executive director of The 100 Club, said, “We are extremely pleased that Chris and Commissioners Court have included The 100 Club on the list of organizations to which jurors can donate pay.”
It was a year of changes, from looks to neighbors by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com Before you toast hello to 2014, it’s time to take a look back at the biggest stories that impacted your lives and your neighborhoods.
1. Real Estate
It’s hard to say there was anything bigger than the continuing real estate boom in the Heights, Oak Forest and Garden Oaks. In fact, we believe it is the biggest story of 2013. It’s rare to drive around these neighborhoods without seeing new home construction and/or new businesses popping up. The past 12 months have been a great time to be an entrepreneur or real estate agent in the area. Small houses have given way to larger properties – on the same lots – in rapidly changing neighborhood. If you were a buyer this year, you moved into a great place. If you were a seller, chances are you made some money. The reason real estate is the biggest story of the year isn’t just because so many homes were sold at such a high value. Rather, the growth impacts every part of our lives – from our schools to our stores to our churches and everywhere in between. New homeowners inject new life into neighborhoods, and while there are growing pains with any transition, there is nothing that tops the gentrification of our neighborhoods.
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What
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2-1 HOME FOR RENT: Fresh paint. Fenced-in yard. New appliances. Remodeled bath. $875 monthly, $875 deposit. 713-691-2696. ALTERATIONS: Reasonable. Pick up and delivery. Charlotte, 713-6940003. HANDYMAN SAVES YOU MONEY: Plumbing, electrical, carpentry. 281660-0350.
See more, Page 7B
THE INDEX.
Public Safety Hipstrict Topics Obituaries Coupons Puzzles Sports Classifieds
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Everywhere you look, there’s change in the area. On virtually every block, a new home is being built or an old one is being remodeled. And even the most established of businesses are changing with the times, including Tommie Vaughn Ford, which is nearing completion of its renovations.
2. School transitions
Changes in local schools come in as a close second among top stories in The Leader area. • Parents at Durham Elementa-
ry School in Shepherd Park Plaza were understandably frustrated when they had three principals in as many years. They voiced their concerns with Houston ISD, but they were pleased when the district named Angie Sugarek the new principal. • Waltrip High principal Steve Siebenhaler resigned in February under a cloud of controversy. The Oak Forest-based school has bounced back under the leadership of new principal Andria Schur, who has re-energized the school and overseen a sharp increase in college applications among seniors. They’ve also held regular meetings to discuss progress on the 2007 and 2012 bond projects to improve the school. Part of the problem in the past was the lack of communication between HISD and the Waltrip community with the ’07 bond. • St. Thomas High School had wanted to acquire the property adjacent to its campus on Shepherd Drive and Memorial Drive, from HISD. After three bids, STH finally acquired the property in November where HISD’s High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice is located, with a $60 million bid. • HISD’s Energy Institute High School, the first of its kind in the nation, opened in August. Leaders in the Energy industry pledged to work with the district to help students pursue careers in that field.
3. Crime concerns linger
With waves of crime affecting the area – especially Oak Forest – security became a major issue in
see 2013 • Page 9A
One week away from stiffest competition in the area It’s back... And if you don’t know what we’re talking about just from seeing the picture accompanying this story, you’re in for quite a treat. Next week, in our Jan. 4 edition, we’re kicking off the 2nd Annual Leader Loveables contest. In a nutshell, we’re looking for the cutest pets in the area. If the contest is anything like last year, it’s a good idea to capture the best picture you can find of your four-legged friends. We’re not saying you should hire a modeling photographer, but it sure wouldn’t hurt. While this is just an introduction to the contest – and with things getting in full gear next week – there are some changes to the competition this year.
����������������� For starters, we are going to have two categories this year: Dogs and Cats. We know this may upset the bird owners, but we didn’t receive any bird nominations last year, and we only had one fish, who we hear has since departed (stress from the pageantry, we’re sure). So, here are the rules: • Beginning with the Jan. 4 edition of The
Leader, you will have the opportunity to submit a photo and a short description of your pet (30 words or less). • It will cost $10 to nominate your pet, and we’ll provide you with a simple nomination form. (If you have more than one pet, you are welcome to pit Sylvester up against his brother Smoky.) • We will accept nominations of pets until Tuesday, Jan. 14 at noon. That means you’ll only have two weeks to send in your nominations. • Beginning in the Jan. 18 edition of The Leader, we will publish the photo of every nominated pet, along with a ballot. (We also will have the photos posted on our website, www.theleadernews.com). Immediately af-
ter the ballots are published, we will begin accepting votes – one per day per person, and the ballot can be photocopied. • We will run all photos of the nominated pets again in the Jan. 25 edition of The Leader and, again, we will publish a ballot for a second time. • Votes will be accepted until Monday, Jan. 27, and they will be done both with paper ballot and online. • We will publish the Top Two winners in both the Dog and Cat categories in the Feb. 1 edition of The Leader. Until next week, start taking pictures (or finding old ones) of your pets. We’ll give you details on nominations and voting next week.